Manhattan Continues Road Trip at Niagara

Manhattan-Niagara Game Notes

TODAY'S GAME
Manhattan (14-6, 6-3 MAAC) continues its three-game road trip looking to finish off a season sweep of Niagara (1-19, 0-9 MAAC) this afternoon at the Gallagher Center.  The Lady Jaspers knocked off the Purple Eagles 71-32 in Riverdale on Jan. 8.  Manhattan notched its second consecutive victory, 55-30 at Canisius on Friday afternoon, and enters today's contest the winners of six out of seven.  Niagara has dropped 14 straight, including a 55-44 loss to Loyola on Friday.

THE LADY JASPERS
The Lady Jaspers (14-6, 6-3 MAAC) complete the Buffalo portion of their three-game Upstate New York road trip this afternoon.  Manhattan is looking for its third straight win after posting a 55-30 victory at Canisius on Friday afternoon.  Senior guard Abby Wentworth paces the MAAC both scoring (14.7 ppg) and assists (4.6 apg), and she also averages a team-leading 3.3 steals per game.  Junior forward Nadia Peters, who notched a double-double at Canisius, leads the Lady Jaspers with 6.2 rebounds per game.  She also ranks second in the MAAC in blocks (1.6 bpg) and third in the league in steals (2.4 spg).  Junior forward Lindsey Loutsenhizer is second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 8.9 points and 5.2 boards per contest.  The Lady Jaspers visit Siena to wrap up the season series with the Saints on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader with the Manhattan and Siena men's teams.

THE PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara (1-19, 0-9 MAAC) enters today's game looking to snap a 14-game skid.  The Purple Eagles, whose only win was a 52-51 triumph at Penn on Nov. 30, dropped a 55-44 decision against Loyola on Friday.  Senior forward Liz Flooks paces the Purple Eagles in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.9 points and 4.8 boards per contest.  Freshman forward Katie Gattuso adds 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while junior forward Meghan Waterman hands out a team-best 2.2 assists per outing.  Junior guard Ali Morris, who is currently out with an injury, distributes 2.0 assists per game.  Freshman forward Shy Britton contributes a team-leading 1.2 blocks per game to go along with 1.1 steals per contest.  As a team, Niagara is averaging just 49.5 points per game, and the Purple Eagles have been held under 40 points five times this season.  Niagara plays three of its next four games on the road, starting with a visit to Marist on Friday.

SERIES HISTORY
The Lady Jaspers have won each of their last five regular season meetings with the Purple Eagles, including a 71-32 victory at Draddy Gymnasium on Jan. 8.  However, Niagara notched a 66-54 triumph when the teams met in last season's MAAC Quarterfinals.  Overall, this is the 45th all-time meeting between the schools, and Manhattan leads the series 23-21.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME
In front of a national TV audience on ESPNU, Manhattan used a 25-0 second-half run to turn a close game into a 55-30 victory over Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center on Friday afternoon.  The Lady Jaspers led 23-20 at halftime and saw their advantage cut to one early in the second half before a Maggie Blair three-pointer ignited the 11-minute run that made the score 53-25 with 5:39 remaining.  The 30 points were the fewest for a Manhattan opponent since Columbia also had 30 in 1991-92, and the win was the Lady Jaspers' first over the Griffs' in Buffalo since Jan. 12, 2001, a span of nine meetings.  Nadia Peters had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Abby Wentworth notched a game-high 14 points and Lindsey Loutsenhizer added 13 points.